Riots in Tarn
Transformers 2K5 - Prowl - mercredi, octobre 22, 2014, 11:41 ------------------------------------------------------------- Residential Sector - Tarn The tall apartment towers of Tarn offer little in the way of escape in what is, for all intents and purposes, a police state. Governor Lightsinger authorizes regular searches of private dwellings, and anti-Decepticon propaganda dots every blank wall and alleyway: 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings!' and 'If You See Something Turn into a Gun, Say Something Turned into a Gun' are two popular ones. Contents: Arcee Rodimus Prime Set Home Four echoing explosions are heard in Tarn, shattering the night's peace. With that, power goes out in the entire residential quarter of the city. Arcee says, "Autobots, Teletraan is reporting a massive power outage in Tarn's residential sector. I'm going to check it out, please deploy if you're in the vicinity.." Riotbuster says, "Prowl, Sir! It looks like the power relays...ah...yeah what CO Arcee said. We've got a blackout." Prowl says, "This is Prowl, I have been in Tarn since yesterday following up a lead. I will be on scene in a few moments." Ravage has arrived. https://tuberepeat.com/watch?v=53HY8RMOTbY Night in Tarn. The city's maintained its uneasy peace so far, despite the growing tensions of the two factions, vying for control. The Autobots have done their level best to maintain an aura of fairness and culture, hoping to soothe the long-standing resentment of the Decepticon-favoring Tarn citizens. Decepticon forces however, have done their part to rile up Tarn in the worst way. However, tonight things may take a turn.... It is an uneasy night in the uneasy city, this most dreaded time of year to the superstitious. Some of The Lost claim that the strange and unnerving Slender Mech appears at this time of year, others claim that the dead rise. As night starts to hang low over the city, the ill silhouette of the head of Unicron himself is visible in the backlight of Dia. Tonight, his dread gaze falls upon the city, and with it...Sorrow. Explosions rip through parts of the Residential District. Small, timed charges that seem to have been placed properly, with intent, instead of explosions meant to terrify. The power to the city's quarter is promptly cut out, leaving the civilians in only the light of that tainted moon. Figures appear in the darkness, using their built-in spotlights to move into the streets, and organize. The sounds of doors are promptly smashed open with large hammers. A shriek of terror fills the night. Another scream. A third... Something moves in Tarn's depths tonight, and it bodes ill for all. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Pink Saturn Sky drives in from Retoris as quickly as she can, turning on her bright beams to illuminate a path through the unlit streets. She scans for bogeys, not bogeymechs, but on a night such as this anything is possible. "<< Prowl, I'm seeing explosions in the northeasten quadrant of Residential sector...looks like some sort of coordinated attack is not out of the question. >>" Prowl is driving as fast as he safely can but then again the streets are supposed to be mostly empty at this time of night. The police cruiser's red and blue lights are on as it makes it's way towards the residential sector. << Tarn PD, this is Prowl from the Autobots. I am on my way to investigate the disturbance in the residential sector. Have some units on stand-by. >> << Pretty brazen for the Decepticons. Let's go see what this is all about. >> ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Riotbuster says, "Roger that, Sirs. I've already arranged for two added patrols to investigate the area as well." Space Shuttle flies into the scene, having recieved a report of explosions. The Combaticon Aerospace Commander has been slowly working his way into Tarn- it's people, it's systems, it's very core... and he hopes to turn the tide towards Decepticon victory here. But the town is not won yet, and if these explosions are at all related to the unrest, or the resistance movement, he wants to know. He radios several covert operatives apporaching the scene, <> He flies in and lands on top of a building where he may be able to get a better view. Some might say that curiosity and cats don't mix. However, Ravage is no ordinary cat! He bounds towards the residential sector of Tarn, intent on finding out what's going on there. Ravage pauses as he draws near, picking up Blast Off's radio message. <> he radios back, and leaps his way up to where the Air Commander has landed. Arcee's headlights flash upon a gruesome sight. A mech has just been drug out into the street. Several large mechs stand over him, most of which wielding brutal large hammers. Before the Autobots can do too much to prevent it. Three hammers smash down onto him, caving in his chest. A window is battered open from a third story, sending a panicked, multi-colored Empty named Trifles to the ground. Sparks fly as he hits the ground, his arm's piston almost assuredly snapped from the fall. From Blast Off and Ravage's positions up high, they can see more lights, more screams. It seems that this riotous mob wants nothing more to do than to hurt and kill. Most startlingly of all, is that they are all masked with Blast Off's own idea. Megatron Masks, every last one of them. Though these certainly can't be the ones HE recruited, can they? While eager for liberation, so many of them were complying with Decepticon Command's timing. This...this is not that time. The lights of the Autobots approaching, are met with a strange eagerness. Silently, several of the mechs raise up their weapons in preparation of battle, even as the ones behind them continue to butcher the living for some grim task. Rodimus Prime drops Unruly Megatron Masks. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) As Arcee pulls up onto the gruesome scene, she startles inwardly when she sees all the masked assailants. "<< By the spark, what kind of crazy riot IS this? -- Prowl, we've got...assailants in Megatron Masks, just going wild out here. I'm going to see if I can protect some of those they've already hurt. >>" The pink racer pulls straight up to the injured mech in the street, knowing she's probably about to be clobbered in making such a bold move, but perhaps if this injured mech is still in any shape to flee, she can buy him a few moments to do just that. The pink Cybertronian tech car splits apart to reveal Autobot Warrior Arcee! She's ready to kick aft! Nissan 350Z Police Cruiser frowms as he sees the Megatron masks << Guess the Decepticons have thrown the glove down Arcee. >> The police cruiser does not slow down but accelerates towards the group. Some sparks can be seen for a fraction of a second as the car begins to unfold at high speed sending Prowl into a flying clothesline at one of Mask Bearers. The impact and momentum should at least get one of them off the poor guy. With the traditional sound from your childhood, the police cruiser unfolds into Prowl's robot form. Combat: Prowl strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his Flying clothesline! (Punch) attack! Combat: Gained 1 energon. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Prowl says, "Riot in progress. Suspects are wearing Megatron masks. I want the intersections leading to the residential sector blocked. We need to keep this contained, serve and protect." Riotbuster says, "We've got reports of more activity deeper in...." Riotbuster says, "Primus. How many of these guys are there? I've got reports in sector 23, 24, and 26!" Ravage observes the situation silently, completely still except for the tip of his tail, which twitches every now and then. The cassette keeps his opinions and thoughts to himself. He tilts his head up, peering at Blast Off to gauge whatever reaction the shuttle might have to the scene before them. Blast Off grimaces slightly under his faceplate at the sight of the unruly crowd... with Megatron masks on? <> He huffs in annoyance and glides down to another spot- still high on a roof, out of the crowd's reach and NOT near any Autobots if he can help it. But close enough to demand, "What are you *doing*?! What is the meaning of this?!" Prowl says, "The lights are off but is the emergency PA system still functional?" It would be Trifles' last moments, the poor Empty, what one may call Lost, gazes up towards his room, only to see another Megatron Mask staring down at him. Suddenly he is not alone, Arcee stands before him, defiant against the odds. A roar of an engine hits thereafter as Prowl bodily hurls himself into the fray, sending a Megatron Mask sprawling, his hammer crackling with electricty as he is sent flying. Warriors close in on the two of them as Trifles starts to crawl away, sparks emenating from his joints as fear grips the poor mech. Three of them raise up their hammers, striking down at Prowl, who so eagerly joined the fray. A single one charges towards Arcee, wielding a heavy crowbar in his hands. Surprisingly, Blast Off does get one's attention from his position. One of them with a rubsign, actually stops where he is, and pulls his mask up. "Oh! Hey! Sirs!" He gives a friendly wave, oddly not squeamish as an old Femme is brutally taken down not six steps from him. "It's me, Fenderbender! I uh...I guess I didn't get the memo!" He shrugs, "I'll make you proud!" Ravage gets a single moment of awareness before he and Blast Off are not alone on their high perch. He senses an abject energy reading. "Yu do no know theem because they is not yours, little Combahticawn." From behind the pair comes a strange, slender Femme, one that they've seen before. She raises her long, twisted staff. "Deff comes for you tonight, Iffan you lucky." Pale energy crackles along the staff as she aims it at Blast Off! Dal Matia has arrived. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Prowl with Unruly Megatron Masks's No Hammer Jokes plz. attack! -1 Combat: Rodimus Prime (Rodimus Prime) used "Tactical Fire": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: You took 11 damage. Combat: Rodimus Prime misses Arcee with Unruly Megatron Masks's Charging Smash! attack! -1 Combat: Dal Matia sets its defense level to Protected. Combat: Dal Matia misses Blast Off with its That can't be good for you. (Laser) attack! ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) http://tinyurl.com/ppqyn2k Combat: Arcee sets her defense level to Guarded. Prowl gets clubbed by the energy hammer which sends him flying back and skidding on the ground. He gets back up and pulls his rifle out. "Allright, drop your weapons and put your hands on your head. You are all under arrest." Sounds silly but procedures and all. Combat: Prowl sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Prowl takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Combat: Regained 9 energon. Riotbuster says, "Uh..what? Yeah...yeah it's still up. Noisecontrol, patch Prowl through!" Arcee is too late to assist poor Trifle, but there's plenty of other victims out here getting pummelled, beaten and harassed. She interjects herself between another resident-victim and one of the Masked assailants, and shields the resident with her body while trying to plant her foot against the Masked assailant's chestplate. It's going to get ugly out here before it gets any prettier, no doubt about it. Combat: Arcee misses Unruly Megatron Masks with her Kick attack! Flywheels arrives from the Central Tarn. Flywheels has arrived. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Prowl says, "*Restricted to Tarn emergencyy PA*" Prowl says, "Rioters of Tarn, this is Prowl." Prowl says, "In case you people have forgotten, this city operates under certain rules." Prowl says, "You mask-wearing punks are not the law...I am the law." Prowl says, "You rioters are charged with breaking and entering, assault, resisting arrest, possession of weapons, rioting, illegal assembly and breaking curfew." Prowl says, "Any who obstruct me in carrying out the arrests will be treated as an accessory to the said crimes." Prowl says, "You have been warned." Blast Off looks down at this "Fenderbender" character. "What are you *doing*?! This is not our idea! This is..." He blinks as the old femme is brought down by the crowd. "This is not *civilized*! Your targets should be *worthy* ones, not... not..." He points in the poor old femme's direction. "That!" He doesn't try to help- she looks pretty well done in anyway, and he has no desire to risk his own neck, but still... this is nonsense. "Why are you even attacking someone like th-" His question is interrupted by a sudden appearance behind him. He whirls around at the voice, darting aside just in time to miss her attack. And there's Dal Matia. "You! I remember you! You were the one messing with our satellites..." The Combaticon whips up his ionic blaster now, aiming it at the femme. "Was THIS what that was about?" He fires right back. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blast Off misses Dal Matia with his Tit for Tat (Laser) attack! -1 <> Ravage responds, sweeping his gaze across the area again as he follows Blast Off to the next roof. <>'' He stops and lets out a low growl, sensing the presence of another nearby. Dal Matia attacks before he can warn anyone, but Ravage isn't about to let her get away with it! He lunges, claws out, and tries to give the femme a few new scratches on her frame. Combat: Suddenly, Ravage appears out of thin air! Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Ravage strikes Dal Matia with his Rending attack! -2 YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer drive and fly into the outskirts of the area, arguing. "We would have been here eons ago if you weren't so blasted slow!" the F-4 shrieks. "Or if we would have transformed, we BOTH could have flown, you rusted bucket of bolts," the artillery piece replies acidly. "NO! It's bad enough I have to slow down to let you keep up, I'm not merging with you unless it's absolutely neccesary." "It might come to that, airhead. I hope not." "Finally, something we agree... What's going on over there?" As vigilant and propr as Prowl is, most of these mechs don't seem to care. In fact, his lawfulness seems to egg them on. Still as silent as corpses, the one that clocked him a good one, comes in close again. Electricity lights up the night for several moments as he spins it around in a half circle, moving to bury it into Prowl's gears. While Trifles isn't clear, per se, the Lost one has made good ground out of the alley. Footsteps clammor by as Riotbuster and a few of the Prowlers call out in the distance, advocating emergency shelters. One can only hope the little mech can make it to them. The mech Arcee kicks at, ends up catching her leg for the moment, then delivering a powerful headbutt to her at close range, grunting with exertion. Only when Dal Matia appears is there a change within them. "Ah cose!" She waves a finger as if to chide Blast Off, "Loud Unicron, this is he night!" She nimbly twists in an eerie way, as Blast Off opens fire at her, however Ravage scores the hit, though she barely seems to notice. "I be working up great tings here. You Cawns I thank for these. I NO you future, Combahticawn! Would you care to see it?" She raises her staff again, forcing optical nightmares right into the mech, but what does he see there? Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks misses Prowl with its Into the Fray! Area attack! Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks (Unruly Megatron Masks) used "Tactical Fire": A Level 3 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks misses Arcee with its Into the Fray! Area attack! Combat: Dal Matia strikes Blast Off with its Your Darkest Secrets attack! -4 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Dal Matia calls out as she hits Blast Off, "DEAAAFFF!" Unruly Megatron Masks responds with shouts, "DEATH!" Prowl leaps back a few feet to let the hammer swing wide. Prowl advances and kicks the rioter in the side of the head. "Stay down or I will make you stay down." https://tuberepeat.com/watch?v=DB0gV65XwJk Combat: Prowl strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his Kick attack! Combat: Drained 2 energon. Arcee knows it's dark, and she knows there's going to be a lot of missing due to the darkness and crowded confusion. She only hopes that it goes both ways, and that it works for her more than it works against her. She faces down a masked assailant -- is it the same one from before, or a different one this time? Hard to tell when they're ALL wearing masks! While she's taunting him, she tries to silently assist Prowl in the meantime while his backup arrives. "Need to try a little harder than that," she says. Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks damages itself. Combat: Arcee takes extra time to assist Prowl's next attack. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Blast Off ...misses?! What the slag? The Combaticon blinks, not used to such things, but doesn't have a lot of time to try again- for Dal Matia raises that staff again before he can try destroying it. Her words are ominous... and her staff blasts- well, it seems to blast right through his spark. The shuttle staggers backwards as his worst nightmares swirl around him. The somewhat neurotic shuttleformer has many fears, but there is one that looms above all. That blast seems to strike him through the core... and then he can feel that his core ...is all that's left. He's back in the box. Back in the Detention Center. There's abolutely nothing. He's... all alone. And he knows that no one's coming for him. No, he'll stay here in Limbo again.... forever. No comforts, nothing civilized, no one to even talk to... just sterile stillness until the end of time. Not even the stars for company. With a strangled cry, the Combaticon collapses to his knees, hands on head. "No..." He kneels there, shaking, until very slowly... he suddenly realizes there is something. He blinks and looks up- and there are the stars, right where they should be. The wave of relief he feels is massive... but he still needs time to clear his head. "Ravage... Flywheels... stop her..." The Global Pose Tracker marks that Blast Off has 'skipped' his action for this round. Ravage continues sinking his claws into as much of Dal Matia as he can, trying to get some good damage in before she loses interest in Blast Off and turns on him instead. She's already managed to get the shuttle down - somehow! - which doesn't bode well. Combat: Ravage strikes Dal Matia with his Rending attack! -1 YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer roll through the streets and above them. "What in the inferno is that thing?" the F-4 howls as it sees Dal Matia. "A soon-to-be pile of scrap, I think. Try to keep up!" The tracked artillery piece, compelled to stay in range, trundles through the city streets and the occasional building. "What are you doing?! There's a plan for this place, one that doesn't involve wholesale destruction! Stay in line with the OOF roads!" The fighter cackles as it levels off and aligns its gun sights on the four-armed monstrosity. "Roads are for losers." Twin beams of laser light connect the rooftop and the F-4 for a split second, then vanish. Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer misses Dal Matia with their Laser attack! One of the rioters is knocked to the ground, his mask tumbling off. A wild, sickly green optic looks up at Prowl. The mech's mouth has been welded shut. Two of the Masks hurl themselves at Arcee, moving to Tantrumrush her to the ground, as others move to the aid of Dal Matia, climbing onto the roof. Metal crumples and breaks down the street as a wall collapses. Though clumsy and groundbound, the Death Cultists move in to assault Ravage and Blast Off. Admittedly, Ravage is overlooked at first, what with the black panther in the darkness. One of them blindly charges Blast Off, missing wildly because its Blast Off, and falls from the roof, crashing down onto the city street atop another. Two more try to encircle him, moving to flatten the Combaticon to the ground before he can get to the air. Ravage, while not directly affected, is bound to be stepped on if he's not careful! Ravage strikes true a second time, raking at Dal Matia before she is lost in the crowd. A flash of green light shows her position and then...not moments before Flywheels opens fire on her location, hurting some of the Megatron Masks, no doubt. She appears on the other side of the street, looming down over the Autobots. The Cultist raises her staff up, doing some sort of dance, as she spins it once. "De chains, they brin forth all your woes. Come den, let us enliten the Otobots!" Strange green energy emenates below Prowl, as actual chains are manufactured on a nanotech level, intent on snaring him! Arcee is looked at with a cold gaze. All she does is gesture, and agony erupts in the Femme, though perhaps she's got the metal to withstand it... Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks damages itself. Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks sets its defense level to Fearless. Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks strikes Arcee with its Tag Team Offensive! attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Arcee's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Dal Matia strikes Prowl with its Chains Of Fate attack! Combat: Dal Matia (Dal Matia) used "Chains Of Fate": A Level 4 RANGED attack. Combat: You took 12 damage. Combat: That attack has locked on Prowl. (LOCKON) Combat: Dal Matia strikes Arcee with its Traumatic Past attack! Combat: Dal Matia's attack has shocking and traumatic effects on Arcee. Combat: That attack has mode-locked2 Arcee. (MODE-LOCKED2) Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks strikes Blast Off with its Tactical Fire Area attack! Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks strikes Ravage with its Tactical Fire Area attack! ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Combat: Arcee sets her defense level to Aggressive. Dal Matia nods with a smug smile down towards Arcee, "Show you true self, Gurl!" Prowl is surprised at the attacks. The chains springing from the ground and tangling him. He is being crushed by the chains. "Argg...Last chance...drop your weapons and I will go easy on you. Resist...argg..And the gloves come off." Combat: Prowl analyzes Dal Matia for weaknesses Prowl can exploit. Combat: Drained 4 energon. Specter arrives from the Central Tarn. Specter has arrived. Arcee gets rushed by the cultists, and slams hard on the ground -- she was expecting that. But what she wasn't expecting was the...culty, weird-talking WEIRDO strolling over to her and hitting her with something that felt like an electrical whip. Nasty business! But is it enough to make Arcee give up? Not even close. For a moment, Arcee's crouched down, looking up at Dal Matia, and the next moment, she leaps directly *at* the voodoo priestess, hoping to knock her over and see how she likes it! Combat: Arcee strikes Dal Matia with her Melee Combat Expert attack! Specter says, "Operative Specter, checking in." Arcee says, "Things are...messy in Tarn tonight. *lots of noise in the bg*" ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Riotbuster says, "There's this...big guy over here, we're trying to contain him but..." Riotbuster says, "He...he just drilled right through Peacemaker..." Specter says, "Enroute." Blast Off is still trying to clear his head when the cultists approach. Sheer self-preservation instincts kick in as he jumps up and away from the first. But he's still shaky and scared, and as the next two circle him he's put off balance just enough that they are able to strike him down just as he tries leaping up into the air. He lands on the roof with a metallic thud, one cultist on top of him and the other trying to hold him down. "Get OFF ME!!!" He snarls, struggling, and is finally able to swing his weapon around and fire it point blank at the one on top of him. He also managed to yell to the other two Cons, "That's IT! Stop these idiots! Stop these Mask-wearers and put an end to this nonsense, and stop HER!" He tries pointing at Dal Matia. Ravage isn't nearly as careful as he should have been. A few of the rioters trample over him and he snarls at them, furious and slightly perplexed. Why would anyone wearing those Megatron masks attack a Decepticon? He doesn't give it much thought, having more important things to focus on at that moment, and instead hurls himself into the unruly mob, swiping and clawing the masked rioters. That ought to teach them not to mess with the superior faction! Combat: Ravage sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Ravage strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his Mauling Panther Attack! (Ruckus) attack! YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer regroup, the F-4 circling over its other half. "What were you even shooting at?" the howitzer asks. "Some weird four-armed femme? I can't see it now, it's in the crowd somewhere." The howitzer rounds a corner and stops, taking in the scene. "That's because you don't understand ground tactics, moron. All you know is zoom around and blast randomly." The massive turret-mounted laser tracks around the melee, stopping where he thinks the strange femme is. "It takes finesse, something you utterly lack, to choose one target and hit it, as opposed to flail about randomly. Observe." The entire turret glows a deep shade of purple, and a deafening blast accompanies a beam of the same color into the crowd. Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer compares their Accuracy to Dal Matia's Agility: Failure :( Combat: Blast Off strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his One of my phobias is *intrusion of personal space* GETOFFAME attack! -2 Specter says, "Orders?" Prowl says, "Serve and protect. Stop the rioters wearing Megatron masks." Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with their Laser Turret attack! -2 Specter says, "Understood, sir." '' Prowl can see this much. Despite her showboat antics, Dal Matia has neither magic(k) nor the Force on her side. It's nanoassaults, each and every last one of them. He learns some vital data about how the wicked Femme operates, and that that green sickly energy is the best bet to hurt her. OR you could leap up atop a three story building like Arcee did and kick her in the chops. Despite Dal Matia's taunting, Arcee has no qualms putting that psycho into her place. The four-armed Femme starts to topple off of the building, only for a flash of light to appear in her place as she teleports down near Prowl. A Cultist is shot clean through by Flywheels, the mech collapsing with but a single word on his faceplate. "Death...." Together, Blast Off and Ravage work as an efficient team, focusing on taking down more of these Death Cultists, dispatching three of them in an instant. Ravage knocking one into Blast Off's path, and ducking aside as the shuttleformer's powerful blaster actually fires through the first, and into the second. The third topples from the building top. Dal Matia raises her staff towards Prowl, a swagger in her odd step. "And now yu, mista offeecar." A blinding flash of light accompanies her actions. "Who do you pretend to be?" With the Cultists numbers halved, finally they start to show some hesitancy, firing their weaker ranged attacks at Blast Off as he tries to keep his distance. One notes Ravage, slams his hammer down onto the roof, causing it to buckle, then without a note of self-preservation, aims the next skullcrusher at the Cassettecon. Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks strikes Ravage with its Tactical Fire Area attack! Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks misses Blast Off with its Tactical Fire Area attack! Combat: Dal Matia strikes Prowl with its Volatile Future attack! Combat: Dal Matia (Dal Matia) used "Volatile Future": A Level 4 RANGED attack. Combat: You took 10 damage. Combat: Dal Matia's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Prowl. Combat: Dal Matia's attack damages your armor. Dal Matia tilts her head to the side, "Well..wat strangeness fills you spark, offeecar?" She fires another blast at him, quite curious about the Autobot now! Combat: Dal Matia strikes Prowl with its Your Darkest Secrets attack! -4 Combat: Dal Matia (Dal Matia) used "Your Darkest Secrets": A Level 0 RANGED attack. Combat: You took 0 damage. Combat: Dal Matia's attack has decreased your Courage. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) The attack stuns Prowl and brings him to his knees. The second attack brings back weird flashes...A past memory that must never EVER be revealed. "I have been called many things maam but strange...was not one of them. You used up your chances." Even while he is crouched he staring at pool of energon on the ground which show the reflection of Dal Matia allowing to aim without looking and also with the help or Arcee's telemetry. The two missiles on his shoulders fire at the floating femme. Combat: Prowl strikes Dal Matia with his Wire-Guided Missile attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Removing analysis data for Dal Matia. Combat: Used up 1 Incendinary Missiles. 2 remain. Carefully making his way into the area, Specter stalks the commotion coming from just over the distance. A silent step into the shadows, his image-inducing technology taking care of the blending, the Autobot operative zooms in on the crowd of rioters with Megatron masks on their faces. Odd choice, he ponders their facial wear, but shrugs the thought aside as he gathers some technical data. Combat: Specter analyzes Unruly Megatron Masks for weaknesses. Arcee lands a fantastic hit on the evil priestess, but has to tumble in order to avoid Flywheels. "Oh no, not YOU," she exclaims. Now, she knows there's also Decepticons in the area, which just annoys her to no end. But they have bigger problems at the moment, AND, it looks like the Decepticons are also here to quell this nonsense too. So she COULD complain further, but she just leaves things at that. While Prowl lands a monster missile attack on Dal Matia, she fights back a few more cultists. "Okay, this business needs to stop. Right now. Knock it off already." Combat: Arcee strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with her Disruptor attack! ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Specter says, "In position, riot dispersal coming momentarily." Blast Off finally finds his footing again, taking care of several of the "Megatron Masks" and avoiding their attacks. He fires at the last few on the roof, then glances down where Dal Matia now is. Plus... several Autobots. Great. But at least they're busy with the intruders- well, the *other* intruders. The Comnbaticon steps over to watch the crowd from his rooftop position. Hmm. Don't want the Autofools to look too good here, or let people think this was somehow a Con idea. He raises his weapon at Dal Matia. "This is UNACCEPTABLE. Stop this rioting! Attacking neutral citizens in the street serves no purpose, and the people here WILL fight back!" With that, he fires off a shot. Ravage yowls as the hammer comes smashing down on him. He backs away instinctively, scampering to the sidelines of the fray, and fades into the shadows as his cloak activates. The next time he engages in combat, he's doing it on his own terms. Combat: Ravage activates his cloaking field and vanishes from sight! Combat: Blast Off strikes Dal Matia with his CEASE this at ONCE I SAY wut wut (Laser) attack! From a cunningly hidden sniper hide, Gyroscope surveys the MUSH. Spotting you and your exemplary RP, he sets aside his binoculars and loads a special shell into his sniper rifle. Flicking the scope to high power and the selector lever off safe, he centers you in the crosshairs. He slowly squeezes the trigger, and a faint _click_ emits from the chamber as the firing pin strikes the primer. The round speeds toward you at barely subsonic speeds. SMACK. You've been +nommed! As the howitzer's laser blast cores through a random mech (and almost Arcee), the fighter jet aloft laughs scornfully. "That's your idea of finesse? Missing what you aim for, and hitting some random bystander? Smooth, groundpounder, about as smooth as your filthy treads!" While it mocks the tanklike weapon he's tied to, the F-4 pulls straight up, then kicks the rudder over, ending up much higher and pointed back at the ground, directly over the mob o' mechs. "Finesse takes skill, pizzazz, and elan, you unimaginative, linear-thinking busybody, and you lack all of them!" Spatters of light erupt from the nosecone of the jet and amongst the sea of Cybertronians below. Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer sets their defense level to Aggressive. Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer compares their Accuracy to Dal Matia's Agility: Failure :( Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with their Pew pew pew pew! (Disruptor) attack! Dal Matia is caught dead center, too intrigued by Prowl. Perhaps it was his stoic resolve, or his determination. She could break that...oh the things she could do, what secrets he holds... She actually tilts her head just so. Such secrets turn out to be Fox One, and Fox Two. He strikes her dead on, already knowing how low on Energon she is, sending the Cultist leader into a building. She actually leaves something of an impression of herself as she peels out of it, one of her four arms being left behind. Four arms. Wasn't there someone else with four arms once? Blast Off finds his quarry in a prime position and shatters her shoulder, causing her to stagger. Clearly damaged, the Cultist staggers. "Dis tribute...is enuff." She slams her staff on the ground, another blinding sickly green flash of light engulfing her. The remaining cultists are, unsurprisingly, disheartened and lost. Just as Blast Off turns his gun on one, he drops his hammer, "Whoa, Whoa! One of yours!" Fenderbender raises his mask, "Remember? Easy..." Why did he sound like Dal Matia for a moment? Arcee throws one to the ground, the Cultist's will broken as he lays sprawled out on the ground, but alive, as Flywheels strafes two more. The Cultists move to rout, dropping their weapons, except for a few very confused mechs like Fenderbender who have rubsigns on. With the Cultists dealt with...what happens now? Combat: Dal Matia begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from Blast Off, Ravage, Rodimus Prime, Arcee, Specter, YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer , Dal Matia, and Prowl ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Prowl shakes off the effects and rushes the first masked rioter he can going for a grab but the mech continues trying to run away. "You are not going anywhere. We will have a long chat you and I." Prowl spins to bring the guy off balance and throws him to the ground hard. Soon as he hits the ground the cuffs are on. When she realizes what's happening, Arcee begins pursuing some of the cultists down an alley in an effort to apprehend them and round them up for Prowl and his enforcers (not to mention, Tarn PD) to deal with. There's a lot of questions that need answering around here! Combat: Arcee strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with her Laser attack! Combat: Prowl sets his defense level to Fearless. Rodimus Prime says, "so far: Prowl made his presence known a lot by calming the public AND blowing up Dal Matia. Arcee protected the innocent AND kicked Dal Matia in the face. Blast Off was seen dueling her as well. Ravage is sneaky, but can get some of that glory as well if he wishes. Flywheels has done crowd control. I'm looking for more of the highlights if anyone else has more to add." Combat: Prowl strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his Bad mech bad mech watcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when we come for you? attack! Combat: Removing targeting data for Unruly Megatron Masks. Combat: Drained 8 energon. Riotbuster says, "They're broken, Sirs! Calling in emergency repair squads immediately!" Prowl says, "Have two-mech teams remain with the repair crew while they work. We do not want them injured by stragglers." Emerging from the shadows with a quickness usually reserved for mechs like Blurr or Drag Strip, Specter leaves ghostly faint white lines behind him. Cybertronian technology at work as two legs thump with power, pushing off the ground with the strength of an ox.. but the grace of a goat. Okay, maybe the grace of a gazelle. Yes, that sounds much better. Moving to intercept the band of rioters as they disperse, Specter needed only to hear the greenlight from Prowl to implement his brand of justice. Swift, silent, without remorse. The first he encounters has a jab aimed straight at his throat, another gets a leg sweep. Two stun batons are drawn as the Autobot operative moves through the crowd, bowling anything over in his way. Fast yet powerful, each strike with the batons brings another graceful move to the next. Quickly losing charge, Specter ditches them to the side and resorts to the old fashioned technique. Drawing shurikens from his side pouch, each connected via steel line to his electrified hands, Specter steps forward and throws all ten of them in a fan-like motion. Combat: Specter appears from the shadows... Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Specter strikes Unruly Megatron Masks with his Circuit-Su Electric Ninja Combination attack! Combat: Specter's attack leaves him temporarily incapacitated! Combat: Unruly Megatron Masks is completely disabled. Riotbuster says, "Yes, Sir. I'll see to it personally." ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Specter says, "Rioters pacified, sir." Prowl says, "Excellent work." Blast Off watches with satisfaction as Dal Matia staggers back from his shot. He smirks under the faceplate as he watches her retreat, and takes a few parting shots at the Megatron Mask-fake-outs. He calls out loud and clear, "Yes, run... this sort of uncivilized behavior will NOT be tolerated! Not in the birthplace of the Decepticons! Ravage! Flywheels! Apprehend some of them!" He's just about to consider it a victory when Fenderbender sounds like... Dal Matia? The shuttleformer blinks- then his weapon remains pointed at the mech. "Say that again?" Ravage lunges out of the shadows, trying to tackle one of the fleeing rioters to the ground. Hopefully they'll be able to haul someone in for questioning... Combat: Suddenly, Ravage appears out of thin air! YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer are able to round two corners and find Dal Matia between them as she starts to shimmer and disappear. The howitzer tears up the road, and some of the collapsed cultists on it, on one side as the F-4 screams down the road from the other side, barely a meter above the ground... and they both just keep going. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Combat: YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer strikes Dal Matia with their Tank Shock and Plane Crash! (Ram) attack! Combat: Dal Matia falls to the ground, unconscious. Fenderbender keeps his hands up, "Uhh...something something, please don't kill me?" He manages a sheepish look of fear as he shrugs. "Please?" As Blast Off looks away to continue berating the common masses, he AND Prowl both (Those who were assaulted by the fear attack) both get a few optical flashes of sickly green. The moment passes. The Autobots are on the case when it comes to the Cultists, with Specter's dynamic entry, whom nobody really even knew was on site. Ravage secures his very own prisoner as well, surely Laserbeak will enjoy his one-sided discussion with the mech. Dal Matia slams her staff to the ground, as mentioned before, only for Flywheels to blindside her. The wily magus was many things, but she was too weakened now to dodge his assault. Flywheels fells her, that buildup of energy dissipating before she could teleport away. The Femme slumps to the ground, KOed, three of her hands on the ground. Arcee returns back toward the area where she last saw Prowl, and she has a mech on each arm. Well...it isn't exactly a romantic situation, as these mechs are masked cult members, and they're in energy restraints. YF-4E Phantom II and XM1203 NLOS-C Howitzer smash Dalmatia, and then collide, unintentionally transforming as they tumble. Their robot form ends up just over Dal Matia, rifle to her temple. "Freeze, glitch. You are a prisoner of the Decepticon Empire." Flywheels blink twice. Very rarely do their two personalities agree on anything, much less exact wording. The YF-4E fighter lands on the XM1203 NLOS-C howitzer with a loud CLANK. The fighter seems to break in half as the howitzer's turret flips upright. A head the same shade as the howitzer pokes up through the halves of the Phantom as the jet's engines form arms. Don't page Themestaff, it's not TS; it's Flywheels, the Duocon! Prowl gets a small moment of vertigo and more flashbacks...Him sitting on the command throne of a ship...Then back here. He hands as many suspects as he can to the Tarn PD and makes sure to tag a couple so he can question them tomorrow. He spots Bast Off and stares for a few second which can seem like an eternity and walks towards Blast Off "This is your big plan? Start a riot then pretend you 'care' by 'saving' the day?" Blast Off stares at Fenderbender, but as the mech does not do anything else strange (well, more than usual most likely) he finally lowers his weapon. That's when he's hit with a few more flashbacks and phobias, ranging from pangs of loneliness to that sinking feeling when you realize the wine is gone. (Why is the wine gone?) He shakes his head to counter the effects, then looks up towards Flywheels. "Excellent work! The Decepticons captured the mastermind behind this, and we will take her into custody! Rest assured, citizens of Tarn, the /Decepticons/ get the job done!" That's when Prowl tries to rain on his parade. The Combaticon stiffens. "EXCUUUSE me? You think WE did this?" He points to Dal Matia. "She is an enemy of the Decepticons, not our ally. And this?" He points to a fallen Megatron Mask. "You think *I* would have a bunch of these buffoons running around in these masks attacking their own neighbors and making fools of themselves? I am a *space shuttle*! I do not resort to such vulgar and unsophisticated tactics!" "It would seem to go against the...overall theme of your work in the city up to this point," Arcee notes, resting a hand on her hip. Wait, is she agreeing with Blast Off? It's a mild agreement at best, but she does seem to have doubts that he was behind this mess. If anything, Blast Off and the Decepticons seemed equally taken off-guard by this situation. Prowl looks at Blast Off with a patronizing disbelieving look. "Blast Off...You are a Combaticon. I am surprised you can spell 'unsophisticated'. And to answer your question. I DO think you are linked to this in one way or another." He keeps walking towards the Combaticon no weapons but there is a pair of restraints in his left hand. Flywheels eerily manages to keep on optic on Dal Matia and turns the other towards Prowl. (Except no one can see that because Flywheels has a visor. D'oh! But it's creepy nonetheless.) "Engage some of those vaunted logic circuits, Autobot. This is not our way. We destroy with our own weapons, our own hands, not some masked fools. If it were our idea, rest assured, it would not have failed." One of Flywheels' eyes twitches towards Arcee, and he says in a different voice, "Yeah. Plus, did you hear what this one," Flywheels poke Dal Matia in the optic with their rifle , "Were saying?" Their optic visor narrows. "Unicron." Ravage has left. Specter finishes bundling up some of the rioters for the Tarn PD, allowing himself a wry smile.. a prize for halting the escape of so many unknown assailants. Running a system check, the Autobot great white hope reboots energy systems after the dynamic display of prowess. Before Prowl can realize, Specter is beside him.. hands held behind his back, though unassuming.. still eerily aggressive. Instead of saying anything, Specter merely glares at the Combaticon with cool light blue optics. Combat: Specter takes a moment to shake off the effects of the last attack. Combat: Specter takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Arcee doesn't like the fact that the duoCon kook Flywheels and herself are actually in agreement, but...this has actually just happened. She just has this feeling that planning a disruption of this scale would be too much work for someone like Blast Off. He'd hand it down to some underlings, and she couldn't see some bottom-rung Cons getting this to work without Prowl knowing anything about it. Just doesn't compute to her. In the meantime, she glances over at the white ninja-bread wonder, in a bit of astonishment. Specter says, "Should I move to apprehend him, sir?" Flywheels point a small arm-mounted laser at Dal Matia's forehead as they heft their laser rifle in the general direction of the Autobots, though not aiming at any mech specifically, though perhaps lingering somewhere in the arc including the recently-revealed-as-rockin'-robot Specter. "That's far enough!" BZZT "Measure our words carefully. Previously, the Decepticons have been... on the wrong side of history when it comes to the Destroyer. We will not make that same mistake. Our interrogators will go further than yours, do things that would turn your questioners into blubbering wrecks. WE have custody of this prisoner, and that is the way it shall remain." BZZT "Thanks for the assist though, Bots." Flywheels grin. "Now back off," BZZT "For the future of our planet, out entire race... and perhaps, all others, may be at stake." Blast Off blinks at Arcee as she... agrees with him? "Well... yes. Exactly." But he straightens up in righteous indignation as Prowl insults him- and oh what an insult. Violet optics gleam purple and his trigger finger twitches. "I am a cultured mech... and the fact that I am a Combaticon does not negate that. You obviously don't know *shuttles* very well, for we are a sophisticated lot. But a groundpounder such as yourself probably can't understand such things..." But as Prowl keeps walking towrds him, the Combaticon starts to fly up to a higher perch. "And you claim to be intelligent, Prowl? Such misinformation on your enemies..." He nods to Flywheels. "Indeed. Now take our prisoner- it's time we left here." The mention of Unicron does get a nervous glance skywards. "That's...just superstition on their part, Flywheels. Unicron's gone." Flywheels dischordantly growl, "Unicron was superstitition right up until his claws raked across this planet, Blast Off. We cannot afford to consign him to myth once again. Your brother Vortex can, no doubt, obtain the truth from this... fanatic." Prowl watches the Decepticons leave the area with a prisonner. He would have preferred keeping her but he has what he wants already. A glance at the collected prisonners. One of them will spill the beans...they always do. He just grins and turns his back on Blast Off and helps the officers finish booking the suspects while muttering something. Prowl mutters to himself, "... shuttles.... Lynx were... together." You mutter to yourself, "I know shuttles. Sometimes I wonder if you, Astrotrain and Sky Lynx were spliced together." Flywheels stare upward at Blast Off angrily. "Us, Blast off? We have no room for a prisoner. Yeah, you're HUGE in altmode. Transform and get us out of here." Arcee keeps an optic trained on Blast Off and Flywheels, at least for the time being. She's fairly sure they're only interested in getting gone with the strange cult priestess at this point, but she'll watch them just to make sure. Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared. Blast Off gives Flywheels a slightly sour look, but... he does have a point. "Unicron's *dead*. And he'll stay that way." Or so he really, really hopes. He gives Prowl an even more sour look, glances at Arcee, then turns only to be confronted with Flywheels again. His optics narrow, and he bristles at the bluntness... but he's also ready to leave this place. That fear attack still has him unsettled. "Watch your manners. However... you have a point." He sighs, moves to a open spot, and transforms. Once anyone who wants in IS in, he leaves.... feeling thankful he can still fly among the stars. No Detention Centers anymore. Never again. ...Hopefully. Flywheels throw the Autobots a mocking salute as they drag Dal Matia aboard. Remaining at Prowl's side, Specter returns Arcee's puzzled glance with one of his own. Then his attention is drawn skyward, as their quarry is allowed to escape with the strange Dal Matia woman. Not his call, the Autobot spends no more time on the matter. Instead, he helps the officers round up the unconcious and slightly wounded cultists. Combat: Specter takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Prowl looks at the mess and gets another slight wave of vertigo. He wobbles a bit but shakes it off for now. "Good work everyone. Just in time Specter. That was quite the entrance." Flywheels has left. Fireflight arrives from the Central Tarn. Fireflight has arrived. "Yes, to say the least, that was quite impressive," Arcee admits with a slight (impressed?) smile. "Welp. I'm going to go run a few of these creeps down to the station," she says, pointing out a few of the remaining cultists, "Then I'm headed back to Retoris to get repaired. Great work!" Shooting Prowl an odd look, "I apologize. Did you not sanction appropriate force to detain them?" Specter replies to Prowl's surprised tone and Arcee's comment. "If I was out of line, I accept any punishment you deem fit sir." he replies evenly, collected, almost apologetic. Red RF-4S zoooooooms into the residential sector, barely dodging buildings and coming to a one... two... three... back to two... three... point landing, ending up exactly where Flywheels were standing. BRRRP BRP BRRP BEEP BRRRRP "Sorry, sorry, I got lost for a while. What happened? I saw something fly off a minute ago." The F-4's fuselage extends as its nose and tail section lift up and slide backwards. Arms extrude from its fuselage, and the wings rotate upward. Fireflight's robot mode seems clunky and ungainly on the ground, but considering his mediocre flying skills, that isn't saying much. Prowl looks confused a bit at Specter "I did indeed. I meant it as a compliment. Right in the nick of time and got the job done." He waves off the punishment angle "Don't worry about it Specter." Prowl looks a for spot to sit down for a few. Arcee is still smiling slightly as she heads off to deliver the cultists to the police. "See you mechs later," she says as she heads off with a couple of the restrained cultists. Arcee moves to the Central Tarn. Arcee has left. Blast Off has left. "Ah." Specter nods his head, unused to recognition for his efforts. That's the life when you're a loner, though. While Prowl searches for a place to sit, the intel operative prefers to stand at rigid attention. "Sir." he asks, glancing around to make sure all boogeymechs are accounted for. "I needed a moment to speak about a.." he pauses, "Development." Fireflight feels a bit out of place as Specter's super military bearing makes him feel very young. "I can... uh... I can... help clean up, if this is not for my audio receptors." Prowl grabs a seat and blinks at Specter. "I am listening. What's on your mind?" Momentarily distracted, Specter gives Fireflight a nod of his chin before continuing with Prowl. "Investigating the Tyrest captive, sir. I've conferred with EDC liason Aramasu Hikage about some peculiar tracks found near the Siberian base." he replies, snatching a datapad from subspace and handing it over to Prowl. "He believes them to be Decepticon in nature, Mechaforensics confirms time stamp of hours -before- the attack on the base." Specter continues, crossing his arms. "Razorclaw." Prowl grabs the datapad and focuses "Seems a bit unusual for Razorclaw. I understand him scouting places for the Decepticons to hit. He has an optic for those things and he is patient. What does not add up is him not reaping the rewards from his patience." He looks up at Specter to see if the Ninja is following the train of thought. "Razorclaw SHOULD have been part of the attack. For him to spend his time spotting for others and now enjoying the fruits seem...uncharactiristic. Unless...unless he was NOT there for the raid but watching the raider?" Fireflight starts to walk away, then jerks at the mention of "Tyrest captive." Not wanting to appear too obvious about it, he tries to listen in as he starts tending to one of the nearby former rioters, who is completely in-shock and appears to have no memory of what just happened. "Hey, no worries, brother. You're OK now. What happened here?" "Exactly." Specter accepts the datapad back, making sure to forward that file and all relevant to Prowl himself. It's odd, years back in the fold and he still doesn't have complete trust in the Autobot system itself. "That is what I intend to find out, sir." he smugly states, forgetting himself for a second. "If you have no qualms, of course." Prowl nods at Specter "None. Find out what you can and report back. I will..." He gets up slowly "I think I will need to check in the medcenter. Something that femme did with her staff. Residual radiations or something." He nods at Fireflight "Thanks for helping with the mop up. Stay alert in case there are stragglers we have work crews repairing the power grid and their security must be insured." That being said Prowl transforms into his police cruiser form and slowly heads back to Iacon. With the traditional sound from your childhood, Prowl folds down into a Police Cruiser. Fireflight nods, and looks down at his hands, then at a wrecked building. His hands involuntarily clench into fists, and he leaves the rescue to others more capable. ***** *** * * * * * * *** *** **** * * *** * * * * *** * * *** *** ** * * ** * ** * *** *** *** * * *** *** * * * * *** **** * * *** * * * * *